Friends 10 Years Later: See Rachel's Baby Daughter Emma All Grown Up! (2024)

FAQs

Who played Baby Emma on Friends? ›

Emma Geller Green - Cali and Noelle Sheldon

Ross and Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) daughter, Emma, was played by twins Cali and Noelle Sheldon. They appeared on the sitcom from 2003-2004. While they didn't pursue acting full-time, the 19-year-old's recently nabbed a role in Jordan Peele's thriller “Us.”

Emma lives with both her parents after she is born, until they get into a fight over Ross not telling Rachel that a man that she met at a bar left a message for her. Rachel then moves back in with Joey. In the series finale her parents reconcile and get back together.

Emma was actually played by twins Noelle and Cali Sheldon. The pair only actually appeared in eight episodes of the series, playing Emma as a toddler between 2003 and 2004.

Fans might be surprised to discover the infant was actually played by a set of identical twins. Now all grown up, the stars Cali and Noelle Sheldon recently appeared in horror film, Us. The twins played the role of Emma and they recently turned 19 – how old does that make you feel?!

Although she was only in a handful of episodes, finding a baby to take the role wasn't easy. It took two little actors to portray Emma, twins Noelle and Cali Sheldon, and they have nothing but good things to say about their first acting role.

Lisa Kudrow, with Son Julian Murray Stern

Lisa Kudrow and husband Michael Stern found out they were expecting during season 4 of Friends in 1997, and Kudrow's baby bump was famously included in the plot line: the writers made it so that her character, Phoebe Buffay, was a surrogate carrying triplets for her brother.

Emma isn't actually seen again, but it's expected that Rachel contacted her mother to ask her not to take the infant to Paris. Theoretically, with Ross and Rachel back together, Emma's co-parenting arrangement has changed to include both of her biological parents, rather than just one.

Instead, it's more likely that Ben Geller stopped appearing in the series because of Cole Sprouse's developing career. He had never been a particularly regular or essential character. Since Ross didn't have full custody of his son, the show seemed to feel no need to explain the boy's absence after season 8.

In season seven, Ross and Rachel have sex, and Rachel gets pregnant. Rachel gives birth to a girl in season eight, naming the baby Emma Geller-Green; the name Emma is a gift from Monica, who had previously been reserving the name for her own child.

As far as the age in the series, they pretty well look like the age they are meant to be. Rachel gave birth to Emma not Ben. Ben is the son of Ross and his first wife Carol. Rachel was about 31 or 32 when her daughter with Ross was born.

Why did Rachel name her baby Emma? ›

When it's mentioned that Monica has already picked the names of her future children, Rachel asks what the girl name would be promising she won't steal it. However, when Monica tells her that she'd picked the name "Emma", Rachel clearly really likes it but tries to hide it.

Was Rachel pregnant in reality and is that why they introduced that story arc in Season 8 of Friends? No, Jennifer Aniston was never pregnant. Lisa Kudrow was pregnant for real, during season 4 when her character was pregnant.

Ben Geller - Cole Sprouse

Finally, perhaps the most notable actor was Cole Sprouse who played an older Ben. Cole went on to have a successful acting career, going on to star in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (alongside his twin Dylan) and Riverdale on Netflix.

His half-sister Emma, the daughter of Rachel and Ross, would be 21. Their cousins, Monica and Chandler's twins Jack and Erica, would be 19. Finally, although Phoebe isn't their birth mother, she was the surrogate for Frank Jr's triplets in 1998, and they'd now be 25.

David Schwimmer is famous for his portrayal of Ross Geller in Friends, but to his daughter, Cleo Buckman Schwimmer, he's just dad. David welcomed Cleo, 12, with his then-wife Zoë Buckman on May 8, 2011. Before even becoming a dad, David knew fatherhood would bring meaning to his life.

The part of Ben was actually played by four different actors throughout the show. The first, when Ben was born, was Michael Gunderson, before twin toddlers Charles Thomas Allen and John Christopher Allen took over. Finally, perhaps the most notable actor was Cole Sprouse who played an older Ben.

Playing a pregnant woman named Lydia, Leah Remini met the Friends gang at the hospital in the season 1 episode "The One With the Birth." Joey got to know the expectant mother as Carol was giving birth, and eventually stood by Lydia as she welcomed her own baby.

You may not have known though that Ross' son Ben was actually played by twins; Dylan and Cole Sprouse.

Barone also played Carol Willick, Ross Geller's ex-wife, in the character's first appearance in Friends. She left the show as she wanted to pursue a more full-time role and was replaced by Jane Sibbett. She starred on The Jeff Foxworthy Show for the first season (1995–1996) and in The War at Home from 2005 to 2007.